


The Best One

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, F/M, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, M/M, courting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 18:47:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16143275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Dean applies for a baby sitting job, not realizing that in that part of the country, couples use babysitting as a kind of tryout for taking an Omega mate. Sam and Jessica, for their part are charmed by the sweet Omega who takes care of their children as if they were his own and know he’s the one that will complete their family.Warning. This story isn’t finished and never will be.





	The Best One

Dean stood at the counter, clutching the 'help wanted' sign, crumpled in his hand. He'd just been told that no, they wouldn't hire him for a dishwasher or bus boy. This was about the tenth place he'd applied and been shot down. He didn't get it. He never had this much problem getting a crappy job. 

Like usual, his dad had dropped him off at a crappy motel or other month to month rental, gave him some cash, but not enough. Dean always had to work to make all his expenses. Dean would work and wait. Dad would go out and do whatever it was he did. He wouldn't tell Dean, said that it was something he shouldn't worry his pretty little Omega head about. Dean thought maybe his dad was some kind of drug runner maybe and decided not to think to hard about it. 

This time it was in Odgenville, a small town outside of San Antonio, Texas and the lodging was a tumbledown one bedroom house. More like a shack. The paint had long worn away in the Texas heat and wind, the wood gone to weathered gray. But he could open enough windows to make a cross breeze and the place had ceiling fans and electricity to run them. So it wasn't as bad as a trailer would have been, but honestly- it was a dump. With a job, maybe he could buy one of those small window air conditioners and maybe have one room that was cool enough. But without a job, he wouldn't be eating in a couple weeks.

"Sweetie, you look about beat. Can I get you a Coke or something? On me," said one of the waitresses. She obviously felt sorry for him. 

He wanted a beer, but Omegas weren't legal to drink in Texas, even if, as an Omega, he was considered of age for sex at sixteen. Stupid really. He was eighteen, he could get knotted and knocked up legally, but he couldn't have a damn beer. 

"A Pepsi would be great," he said. Then remembered. People in Texas treated Omegas as if they were pregnant even if they weren't. Caffeine, too, had become forbidden him along with any kind of alcohol. "Make that a Sprite, I guess."

"You know, a nice looking little Omega like you ought to look for a babysitting position," the waitress said as she set the plastic glass full of crushed ice and fizzy liquid in front of him. "The cork board by the entrance has some signs, people looking for a baby sitter."

What did his looks have to do with him watching someone's kids have to do with anything?

Dean sighed. It wasn't that he didn't like babysitting. On the contrary. He loved taking care of pups, ached for the day when his dad would arrange his mating and could have his own. It was just too hard. Taking care of the pups and getting all attached and then suddenly, the parents didn't need him any more. Or more likely, John Winchester swanned back from wherever it was that he went and dragged Dean out of town after him and he never even had a chance to say goodbye to the kids. Maybe this time would be different. 

He finished up his drink and checked out the bulletin board. As promised, there were a couple of ads. He grabbed the tabs with numbers from all of them and headed back to his falling down little shack. 

Once there, he flopped onto the mattress in his bedroom and pulled out his phone. He checked for messages or missed calls, hoping just maybe his dad might have thought about it. No such luck. It was getting onto near a week since he'd last heard from dad. It wasn't like he could go out looking for Dad, should he stop calling or just never return. Dad had their only car, not like he'd let Dean learn to drive anyway. Dean was on shank's mare wherever he went. 

Well, he'd better get started calling around for babysitting gigs. 

The first number, picked at random, was out of service. He crumpled it up and went to the next slip. It was answered by a little girl with a warbly, giddy voice, trying to sound fancy and posh. It was kind of adorable and Dean couldn't stop his smile. 

"Hello! Campbell Residence, how may I direct your call?"

"Hi there," he said. "I'm Dean. I was calling because I saw a sign about baby-sitting. I guess I need to talk to a grown-up, if that's okay?"

The girl dropped the phone, but he could hear her screaming as she ran, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! It's our babysitter on the phone! Daddy!"

A moment or two later, the phone was picked up. The voice was low, melodious, pure Alpha command in there without the guy even trying. "Alfie? I thought you said you weren't going to call us again."

"Uh, I think there must have been a bit of a mistake. Your little girl there didn't give you the full message. I saw your sign for a baby-sitter at the diner on 12th."

"Oh, I didn't even think that was still up. It's months old. But no, this is good. I was just about to put up some new signs. It seems we're out a baby-sitter again as of last night. Would you like to come around, meet my wife and me, maybe the kids if things seem to click?"

"Sure, where and when?"

He was given an address, told that the Alpha on the phone was Sam Campbell, his wife was Jessica Campbell and told that two hours from now would be good. Then the call was over before it even occurred to him he might to want to meet the people out in public first. Then he shrugged. The guy had just felt trustworthy to him. The pup had been adorable as well. No way someone with a kid like that could be a bad guy. 

Dean looked himself up and down. He was soaked through with sweat. No air conditioning in a Texas summer could do that to you. The shack didn't have a proper working bathroom. There was a room where one had been, the plumbing capped off and the walls stripped to the studs. There wasn't a hot water heater either. There was a working toilet in a closet sized room, but he had to use cold water from kitchen sink for brushing his teeth. Someone had set up a shower out in the yard, using water from garden tap. In today's heat, the cold water would feel awesome. If he timed a cold water shower right and walked to the place slowly, he wouldn't be too stinky when he got to his interview. 

***

The house he was directed to was awesome. It was huge. Well, not Texas huge, but big for just about any place else. It was in the older part of town and had huge shade trees growing in front and lush, well watered lawns. He wondered briefly if he could get them to let him mow for money too. Dean walked up the path to the front door, feeling scruffy and like they'd laugh in his face for thinking that a low class schlub like him could hope to watch their pups. He rung the bell. 

A moment later, a pretty blonde woman answered. Her hair was curly and golden and she was amazingly pretty. Like way out of league of just about anyone. She smiled and it was so warm and welcoming that Dean was almost ashamed to be standing there. Like he was there under false pretenses. Someone like this would never invite a grubby, worthless Omega like him into her house.

"You must be Dean, come on in. I'm Jess. I'm so glad you could come so quickly. We've got this party tomorrow so I want to get a sitter nailed down tonight. Here, you come sit in the living room while I get Sam. Can I get you something to drink? I see you walked here, in this scorcher of a day."

Dean was almost shocked that this woman was actually letting him into the house. Not just letting him inside, but led into a living room with shiny polished hardwood floors and a couple of white sofas. She directed him to sit on one of the white sofas and he was super glad he'd put on his best pair of jeans. Or at least the best pair that was still on the clean side. The woman probably hadn't had any idea of just where his pants had been

There wasn't any sign of kids in the living room, but through an archway, he could see a modern addition with a kitchen and family room all in one. There were enough toys that he knew these were cherished children but few enough that he knew they weren't spoiled. There wasn't a lot of plastic stuff, but there was a sizable play kitchen with lots of fake food and a rack of dress up clothes. The house smelled good and with the curtains drawn, the light was filtered and soft. The air conditioning was running and it was blessedly cool compared to the outside. 

"I'll be right back with some water for you," the woman said, then wandered off to the kitchen. 

She brought him a tall glass of it, filled to the top with ice cubes and he sucked it down as gracefully as he could, unaware of how parched he'd gotten until the liquid hit his throat. He stopped himself from gulping as soon as he realized how it looked. A good Omega, raised the right way, would never gulp. These people would expect him to set a good example for their pups. 

"Thank you, Ma'am," he said, looking around. A coaster seemed to materialize on the table in front of him, so he set the glass down. 

"I'll just get Sam. No doubt he's in his home office, trying to sneak in a little more work."

A moment after she was gone, two heads peeked around the archway from the kitchen. One little girl had curly brown hair, the other's brown hair was merely wavy. They giggled together. The curly girl looked to be about five, the other maybe about three. When she spoke, he knew that the curly girl was the one he'd spoken to on the phone, briefly. 

"Are you our new babysitter?"

"I don't know. I hope so. You seem like two fun kids to hang out with. I'm Dean," he said.

"I'm Amelia and this is Madison," the girl said. The younger one was stricken with sudden shyness and hid herself behind her older sister. Amelia just added, "She's shy."

"Hey, that's okay," Dean said. "She's got you to look out for her, right? That's the best thing about having a sib is you look out for each other."

"Do you have a big sister?" Amelia asked. 

He could only shake his head, still feeling the loss after all these years. Even though he'd been just a kid when the fire happened, it was like he could sense an enormous emptiness inside of him, that his relationship with his baby brother would have been one for the history books. 

"Nah. I had a baby brother but he and my Om went to heaven when I was just a little kid. He was the best though."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Amelia said, the phrase very odd and adult sounding in her mouth. Then she added, "That's what Mommy says when someone dies an' we hafta go to the funeral."

His heart swelled at her weird attempt at sympathy and he hoped so hard that they might let him watch these pups. 

"Can you play on the swings with us now?" Madison asked, still behind Amelia but peeking out.

"I think that your Mommy wanted me to stay here so I could talk to her and your Daddy for a while, but if I get to be your babysitter, we'll play on the swings a lot, I promise. And coloring. There's gonna be so much coloring."

With that, a behemoth of an Alpha appeared in the living room, coming down from the stairs with Jessica right behind him. He must be Sam and he was everything Dean had pictured from hearing that deep Alpha voice, except maybe the long, wavy hair that nearly brushed his shoulders. It was hippie long for Texas.

"Damn, you're right," he said to Jessica. "Jesus."

"Daddy, can Dean come play with us on the swing set, please?" Amelia asked. 

"In a little bit, Milly," Sam said. "How about you play in the family room while we talk and then if Dean has some time, maybe he'd like to hang out with you a little."

"I got time," Dean said and he knew that somehow, he'd gotten the job and that he was going to love it here.

***

Sam had been intrigued by the Omega's voice on the phone, but he was enchanted by the young man that was sitting down on his sofa. His pink tinted lips were lush and curved. His eyes were bright green and like a Disney princesses, and from having two daughters Sam knew a Disney princess when he saw one.

Sam didn't recognize him, so he must be new to town. In a town this small, you might not know everyone, but you got to know everyone by sight. That might be kind of a good thing. When Alfie had refused their courting, that meant they'd gone through every eligible Omega in town and were going to have to branch out into the nearby small towns, which would be a pain for everyone, what with all the driving back and forth. 

Some people had called Sam and Jessica picky, that they should just pick an Omega and get on with it. They'd had some very pretty and eligible Omegas as babysitter but it had never felt right. They could tell that the Omegas were more interested in getting mated and pups of their own, that Jessica's pups would be seen as burden and would end up neglected. He could tell that this Dean was already charmed by the kids. His eyes twinkled as he looked at them, big smile on his face. Dean was already half in love with the kids and that counted more than Sam could say. They weren't just trying to find an Omega. They were making a complete family. 

A moment later, he was sitting with Jessica next to him on the sofa, across from the Omega that might well be their Omega. 

"So, you're new to town. Not from Texas even?" Sam asked. Dean had a harsher, midwestern accent, not a soft Texas twang. 

"From Kansas originally, but my dad moved us all over the place. I've lived everywhere from Maine to Oregon. Even spent one summer in Wasilla, Alaska."

Dean was trying to sound upbeat about that, but the undertone of sadness was easily picked up on. Sam's heart went out to him. To be an Omega and dragged all over the country so much, no stable home, it must have been heartbreaking at best. 

"So what brings you to small town Texas then?"

"Well, my Dad travels for business a lot. He kind of needs a home base. We were able to settle here cheap. He knows a guy who has a house to rent cheap, so here I am. I was hoping maybe if I could find a job, I could afford to go to the community college, maybe get a degree in child development. Become a preschool teacher."

Well, that was a pretty standard answer for an Omega. Maybe they might say nurse or grade school teacher or vet tech, but really, every Omega mostly was looking to find a mate and settle down. But Dean really sounded like he wanted to go to college, get a degree. Sam made up his mind to pay him enough that he could afford to go. It wasn't a lot, if you were a county resident. And if they were to mate Dean, well, he would be sure that Dean would get to complete his degree. 

"That's great," Jess said."So you love kids?"

"Yeah, I really do. It seems like you have a couple of really great kids."

"Any Alpha on the horizon?"

"Jessica, I don't think we can ask that question in a job interview," Sam said, even as he was on tenterhooks to hear the answer.

"Nah, never really been in one place long enough for that kind of thing. It's just been me and my dad."

"So, you're really close to your Dad then?" Sam asked, worried. It wasn't common any more, or actually legal in most states, but Alpha fathers did sometimes make their Omega kid into a mate. Or they made the Omega into a pseudo-mate, where the kid did everything a mate would except for the sex.

Dean shook his head. "He's not around much. He's busy and I'm kind of a disappointment to him, being Omega."

Hearing the continued sadness in the Omega's voice, Sam ached to pull him close and show him just how precious an Omega could be. But it was too soon. Dean would flee and they'd never have a chance with him. 

"You have your high school diploma, right?" Jessica asked, obviously trying to steer the conversation around to happier things.

"Omega Equivalence Degree," Dean said. "I took the test in Rhode Island. I did pretty good. I can get you the official transcript if you need."

"No, that's fine," Sam said. It wouldn't have mattered if Dean had never completed it. Sam was won over by the pretty young Omega. "We were thinking that you would maybe hang out this evening, get used to the kids and us, see how everything feels. Then we have a dinner party tomorrow night and you could watch the kids. What we're hoping for eventually is you around full time during the summer. Jessica's work wants her to pick up more shifts. We've been working opposite schedules so the girls always have someone home, but that won't work if Jess goes back full time, like they want."

What they were hoping for was an Omega mate, the third part of their triad. One who saw it as his life's purpose and joy to raise kids, who would be happier to stay at home with them than to go out and work. They wanted more, many more pups. Sam could more than afford to support more, but Jess had only been able to conceive and carry the two they'd been blessed with. An Omega could complete their family, give so much love and receive it. Sam and Jess loved each other dearly, but they just felt incomplete without their Omega. 

"That would be great," Dean said. "It's much easier on everyone that way. We both have someone we can rely on and more than anything, the pups have someone who's always there. That's really the important thing, isn't? Seeing that someone takes good care of them."

Dean had kept looking into the great room, watching the girls play, both overtly and out of the corner of his eye. They were good kids and mostly stayed out of mischief. They got a little boisterous sometimes, like now. Amelia had declared a 'food fight", which mostly meant throwing around the plush fake food from their play kitchen set. No harm done so long as they picked it up afterwards. But some of the fake food was wood, not felt, and Amelia got carried away and threw a wooden piece of bread from the sandwich set. It hit Madison direct on the forehead. It left a red mark, probably no real damage was done, but she burst into tears immediately, his sensitive, shy little girl. 

Before even Jess or Sam could get to their feet, Dean was in the other room with his arms around Madison, carrying her into the kitchen. He looked around and grabbed a clean dishtowel from the stack on the counter they'd been meaning to put away. Then Dean got ice from the freezer and before long, had a cold compress on Madison's forehead. They he walked her around the kitchen, bouncing her on his hips, humming a song that was unmistakably "Smoke on the Water."

Before long, her tears had dried and though she sniffled a little, she was mostly happy again. Dean wiped her face off and said, "If I set you down, you going to be a man about it?"

"Dean! I'm not a man! I'm a little girl!" she protested. 

"That's right. You are a little girl!" he said, with a goofy grin. "And little girls like coloring and tea parties and they don't want their tea party to look like someone had a food fight all over it, do they?"

Within minutes, Dean had charmed her into helping pick up the far flung fake food. Meanwhile, Amelia, in her weirdly mature way, had put herself into her time out corner without anyone telling her to. Dean approached her and whispered some things into her that Sam couldn't hear, but within seconds, Amelia was swooping down on her sister proffering apologies and hugs. Helping out too. 

"Sam, I think this one is a keeper," Jessica said, softly. "He's a natural with the kids and they adore him already."

"I agree," Sam said. "This is our Omega. Let's just hope he feels the same way about us."

***

Dean slipped into the Campbell's family life so easily. That first afternoon had slipped into evening so quickly as he pushed the kids on their swings. He'd been invited to dinner. He had thought maybe he shouldn't stay, that it would be pushing his luck, but he also knew that he couldn't afford to skip an offer of free food either. 

His first paid gig for them went well too and he was astonished when Sam had put three folded twenties into his hand at the end of the night and offered to drive him home. Dean had nearly panicked at the thought of Sam seeing the tumbledown shack, but Dean had put on a bold face. He'd patted his belly, as if there were extra flab there and said, "All this walking is great for my girlish figure."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine," Dean said. "It's not far."

Once he was home, his dad called for the first time in a week and a half. Dean stumbled as he reached for the lights, which failed to turn themselves on with the switch, and answer his phone at the same time. Dad hadn't mentioned anything about getting the electric bill switched into their name and paid. He wondered if Dad's buddy had stopped paying. Dean cursed and fumbled, but finally got his phone up to his ear. 

Dad hardly grumbled a greeting before he asked, "Have you found work yet?"

"Just did my first job tonight. Only thing I could get was a babysitting job, but the family pays real well and they want me to work regular."

"Don't go getting attached to pups that ain't yours again," Dad said, gruffly. It sounded rough, angry, but Dean knew he meant well. It had been hard on Dean before, when he'd been pulled away from pups he'd grown to love, when Dad had had to move them.

"I'll be careful this time," Dean said, but he was lying. It didn't much matter. It was too late. He already loved the Campbell girls and had since that first afternoon. He'd just have to take the emotional hit when the inevitable came around. "Dad, do you know anything about the electric bill on this place, like were we supposed to pay it or something? The power isn't working anymore."

"I don't know, Dean. I don't have time for this. You figure it out. Remember, don't get too attached."

***

It turned out that not only was the power shut off, there was just no way for Dean to get it turned back on. It turned out there was such a history of non-payment that they wanted him to pay everything that was owed and that was hundreds of dollars. Even if he could have done that, spent every penny of his precious babysitting money, the power company wanted him to have all kinds of official stuff, like a copy of the lease and other utility bills in his name that had been mailed to the address. And because he was an Omega, he would need a co-signer, because no one trusted Omegas not to welch on their bills or something. 

So Dean figured it out. He tried to buy only canned stuff. For the other stuff, he bought a couple of cheap foam coolers and bags of ice. The house was stifling without any fans, so he slept on the back porch. He spent most of his days and a lot of his evenings at the Campbell's anyway, where the air conditioning was plentiful and refreshing. For the rest of the time, cold water showers kept him from heat exhaustion. His needs were few and could be managed. 

He found himself eating more and more meals with the Campbells anyways. Lunch with the girls was a given, breakfast too most days. As Jess worked even more, Dean found himself cooking a family dinner for the girls. Jess had been super nice too. She didn't mind if he used their washer and dryer for his own clothes when he was done doing their laundry. Every now and then, he snuck in a shower in their bathroom with real hot water and the nicest apple scented soap. In short, even as conditions grew worse at the shack, he was still okay because of all the time he spent at work. 

Sam and Jess were so nice to him, not like the other parents who seemed to hate the fact that the kids would bond with him, when that wasn't his fault. He was the one that was around, they were off at work or whatever. Or getting their party on. But Sam and Jess encouraged him to spend even more time with the kids. It was the best feeling, sitting at the girl's bedsides, reading them a good night story as Sam watched from the doorway. It made Dean feel, for a few minutes, not just that maybe these really were his pups but that there was a big, strong Alpha who was truly looking out for him. 

It was stupid. It really was. He didn't need any Alpha to look out for him. Dad had raised him to look out for himself, to not rely on anyone else but himself. Dean didn't need any Alpha, not even his own father. But that didn't mean it didn't feel nice to sense Sam there at his back. It was stupid. Sam would never go for a low-class, barely educated Omega like Dean, not when he had such a gorgeous Beta wife. But Dean liked to pretend, at moments like that, that he was mate and not baby-sitter. 

Things shifted slowly though.

One night, about two months after he started, Sam said to him, once the girls were safely tucked in and asleep, "Why don't you hang out for a little while, watch a movie with us?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Dean agreed. The summer weather was at its height and even with the setting of the sun, the temperature hadn't dropped much. It was the kind of night that sleeping on the back porch wouldn't help that much. He was happy to spend a few more hours in air conditioned comfort rather than sit in hot, humid darkness. Downstairs, Jessica was waiting on the sofa and Sam took his place next to her. Dean went to sit on the chair next to the sofa.

"Dean, why don't you sit next to me?" Sam asked, indicating his free side. "You need an Alpha's touch. It's been a while since your Dad has been too town, hasn't it? I can't smell him or another Alpha on you at all. I worry about you, not being scented."

Dean froze. It was true. Dad hadn't been back to town yet, his calls trickling off to a brief one every two weeks or so. Being unscented, completely unmarked could let other Alphas know he was unprotected and up for grabs, maybe even up for forced claiming. He'd been warned more than once that forced claiming was legal in Texas still. 

"No funny business," Sam said. "Just let me get some of my scent on you."

"It's fine, really," Dean protested. "I can look out for myself, always have."

"But you don't have to right now," Sam said. "It would make me feel better, knowing you were scented. It's just my Alpha acting up. You can tell me to back off, but I would like it a lot."

"But Mrs. Campbell and..."

"If you just sit down and cuddle, he'll shut up and we can watch the movie already," Jess said. "Time is wasting, Gentlemen. I've got about an hour of grown up time before my brain turns into a pumpkin for the night."

So, since it was being offered, Dean took the seat on Sam's left side. He'd left a decorous foot between them, but Sam's long arm reached out, wrapped around Dean's shoulders and pulled him close. Dean had no choice but to nestle in close to Sam's firm side. Jess turned and shifted until her legs were draped over Sam's legs and her feet were resting in Dean's lap. She yawned as the movie started. She smelled, even her feet, like the apple soap in the shower. Sam smelled like it too, but under that, he had a complex musky smell, like leather and spice, with a little sweat, in good way. It was soothing. Dean felt himself melting against the big Alpha as the opening scenes of Die Hard 2 played on the big screen TV. It'd been a long day. He'd arrived at the Campbell's at seven. He could feel himself slipping into sleep, but couldn't keep his eyes open. 

When he was next aware, it was daylight and the surface he was sleeping on was disturbingly unstable. He reached until the pillow at his head for the knife that wasn't there and was sick with relief that it wasn't when his mind finally parsed out all the details and came to the conclusion that he was in the Campbell guest room and the bed instability was Amelia and Madison jumping up and down on it. They were still in the pajamas of last night. From the periwinkle hint to the sky, it was still rather early morning and probably Sam and Jess weren't up yet. 

"Dean! Dean!" they shouted when they saw him move. 

Then Amelia added, "You didn't say we were having a sleepover. You shoulda told us. We could have stayed up late and braided Daddy's hair."

Dean wanted to laugh at the thought of the big Alpha with little pink elastics in his hair, but he knew he had to bring some decorum and order to the situation. Beside, he was a little reluctant to get out of bed himself. It was an awfully nice bed, especially compared to the pile of old sleeping bags and blankets he'd set up for sleeping on the back porch. The mattress was firm but not hard. It just cradled him perfectly. The room temperature was perfect for sleeping. The blankets were soft. He tried to burrow down into the pillows again, but the girls just kept jumping up and down. He opened one eye just enough to read the time on the bedside table. 

"C'mon, Dean, get up. Dean, I wanna show you something," Amelia said. 

Dean groaned but sat up in bed. He grabbed the two girls and pulled them into a tickle cuddle that had them shrieking with laughter. Then he got out of bed, still holding them. He was dressed, more or less, in the clothes he was wearing yesterday. Someone had taken off his shoes and his outermost layer of flannel and he had on just his t-shirt and undershirt. 

"Ok, ok," he said, setting them down once he'd made it into the family room. "What's so important it can't wait. It's only five thirty, munchkins."

"It's outside," Amelia said. 

"Well, then it can definitely wait until you're dressed."

Amelia tore away, dragging Madison with her. "I'll help you," she told her little sister. 

Dean sighed, wondering if maybe he should go and help them pick out clothes. He frowned at himself, wearing yesterday's outfit. He'd never meant to sleep here, especially not the whole night. At least he had a duffle of clean clothes with him, having done some laundry yesterday afternoon. Dean grabbed his duffel out of the laundry room and got dressed. By the time he returned, the girls were downstairs, more or less dressed. Even Dean could tell things didn't match and weren't suitable for a regular day. Amelia had put her sister in a flower print sundress with rainbow colored leggings and herself in shorts and a t-shirt with accessories that looked like they came from a costume- a silver fringed vest and silver cowboy boots and hat. 

"Mighty stylin', ladies," he said. "Now, lets see what couldn't wait."

So he got dragged out to the driveway by way of the garage. Madison pulled a little bike out of the general pile of wheeled toys and bikes. With Amelia running behind, Madison rode her bike up and down the driveway, no training wheels. Dean was pretty sure that it shouldn't be possible for a kid that small to have mastered the two wheeled bike, but his girls were always above average in everything. 

"I did it! I did it! Dean!" Madison crowed.

"I taught her!" Amelia shouted. "I taught her. 'N now we can all ride to the park together and go on bike hikes and everything!"

"That's my girl," Dean said, not sure it would be possible to be happier. 

***

Dad never showed up to drag him away. The calls had tapered off to once a month or a little more frequent. By the end of the summer, Dean had saved up enough cash to take a class at the community college, like he said he was going to. It wasn't anything real hard or a lot of classes. It was just a basic math class to get him ready for real college math.

His heart had been in his throat the day he walked up to the desk inside that metal and glass shiny building and put down his application and the fee, in cash. Instead of seeing that was a great moment for him, getting back into a class for the first time in two years, the woman just snorted, irritated she had to deal with a big handful of grubby twenty dollar bills. He didn't care. He was going to college. Dad had said it was pointless for an Omega to go to school after fifteen. Dad didn't even want Dean to bother with the Omega Equivalence Degree, said it wasn't worth spending the effort on an Omega who'd just end up shitting out pups anyway. 

Later that day, when he walked into the Campbell's with his printed class schedule and his slightly battered, used textbook, he'd discovered there was a little party for him. Jess had gotten cupcakes for them all and the girls had made him a card, in crayon, dozens of stickers and glitter glue. "Dean's going to college!" it said. 

Damn. He ought to ask Jess if maybe he should do a little cleaning, because it had been really dusty in the family room. That was the reason his eyes were watering. 

"Open the present," Madison said and she pushed a small box at him. It was wrapped in newspaper decorated with more stickers and glitter glue. The stickers were all unicorns and My Little Ponies, so it had definitely been decorated by Madison. 

Dean carefully slipped open the wrapping paper and opened his present. Inside was a spiral notebook with a pink glittery cover and a handful of pencils, all decorated in pink and rainbow colors- school supplies that could only have been picked out by little girls.

"Wow, these are amazing," he told the girls. "Never seen anything brighter. These will definitely help me study hard."

Jess mouthed "I'm sorry," at him, then added, "The girls insisted on these. They're so excited for you."

"No, really. This is great," Dean said, even though he would never, in a million years actually take the notebook to class, there wasn't any reason he couldn't use it at home or here where the girl's could see him use it. If it would make them happy, he'd do it.

"You're the best one," Madison said.

"You're the best babysitter we've ever had," Amelia added. 

Just then, Sam walked in, caught sight of cupcakes, a present and the card and said, "Did I forget someone's birthday again?"

"No, Dean registered for his class, like he said he would. I thought it was a good reason for a little celebration."

"Of course! That's wonderful," Sam said and Dean found himself literally swept off his feet, into Sam's arms and spun around the room, just once, before being set down again, with a kiss to the forehead. "I know you're going to do well. Do you have all the fees covered? We'd be happy to help out if you need anything. You do so much for our family."

"Nah, I'm good," Dean said. It was only one class and he was able to cover it easily with the money he'd saved. They'd given him something better than any amount of cash. 

***

 

It was raining. Hard. Sudden monsoon with thunderstorm like you only ever got at the change of seasons in Texas. It was the late afternoon but it seemed almost like it could be night, the cloud cover was that thick. The tail end of a tropical storm was sweeping through the rest of Texas up from the coast, something you almost expected during fall hurricane season.

Sam was the one that had gotten home early that day, his work as a tax attorney was busy but steady in the fall and Jess was the one that worked late. Dean, the Omega he was already starting to think of as his, was in the kitchen making dinner. He couldn't cook fancy, hadn't been to any of the private Omega academies that would have taught more advanced culinary skills, but everything that Dean did cook was good. Sam's stomach rumbled at the smell of frying onions and peppers. 

Dean smiled at the sound of Sam's stomach. 

"We've got chicken and rice going and I made up a salad for you. I know how you like your rabbit food," Dean said. Sam peeked in the fridge and it was that spinach with sliced apples, pecans and crumbled blue cheese salad he loved. 

Sam walked over to Dean and planted a short kiss on his forehead and pulled him close, just long enough to get a little scent over him. They were taking it slow, so super slow with Dean. He seemed skittish, even months after he'd been babysitting for them. Most Alphas would have mated an Omega by now, probably even put a pup in them. But Dean was different. Dean was special. Yes, he was pretty. Yes, he obviously loved the kids. But it was far more than that. Both he and Jess agreed that Dean was worth the wait. 

Despite that, Sam needed to scent mark his Omega, make sure other Alpha's knew he was protected. Sam worried about Dean, living on his own. From what Sam could smell, Dean's Alpha father hadn't been around since the early summer. There wasn't the slightest hint of the man left any more. What kind of Alpha more or less abandoned his eighteen year old Omega son? Any time Sam brought it up, Dean just grinned and said he was good, that he could handle himself, no need to worry. Sam worried. He and Jess found reasons for Dean to be here more than they honestly needed him, just so he wouldn't be alone at wherever it was that he lived. 

That was another thing, Dean had never, not once, let Sam give him a ride home. Sam had let it slide, so far, figuring that Dean might be ashamed of where he lived. He knew that he and his family were beyond fortunate and the Omega probably lived someplace on the wrong side of the tracks. Maybe at the trailer park out on River Road or there were some run down houses out that way too. 

After dinner and after the girls were put to bed, it was still raining hard, hard enough that Sam was glad they were way up hill from the river and even a hundred year flood wouldn't reach them. The weather report had said that they would definitely see some flooding tonight, down by the river. The thunderstorms wouldn't leave the area until early tomorrow morning. 

"You should probably spend the night with us," Jess said. "This weather is crazy. I don't want you to walk home in that."

"Nah, I'm good. Really. I got that class tomorrow at eight. It's easier for me to get to the college from where I live."

"I'll give you ride home then," Sam said, standing up, trying to remember where he'd put his keys.

"It's not that bad," Dean said, just seconds before an enormous clap of thunder deafened them all as the sky light up purple with a jagged streak of lightening. 

"I'm not letting you out in that," Sam said, firmly, but not allowing any Alpha command tones to slip into his voice. 

Dean ended up in the passenger seat of Sam's car, giving Sam directions that led them closer and closer to the bad area of town by the river bend. The houses grew smaller and crappier pretty quickly and random lightning flashes illuminated trucks up on blocks in many yards. Sam kind of expected Dean was living in this kind of wrong side of the tracks neighborhood, but when Dean finally directed him down a gravel road at the outskirts of town then gave the direction to stop, Sam was horrified. 

They'd stopped in front of a small shack that should have been condemned as unfit for human habitation years ago. The stoop had more or less fallen off the house, so the front door was boarded up. The back must have been okay, because there was a clear, obvious path through waist high weeds. Most of the rest of the yard was the same weeds, but scattered through with scrubby weed trees. The roof must have had a huge hole, part of it was covered up with one of those blue tarps. The place was pitch black, no porch light, no light left on inside, no street lights, only his headlights and the occasional actinic flares of lightning lit the place.

More worrying than the state of the house was how close to the river it was. The gravel road sloped down to the river. Sam guessed that normally the river bank would be about two, three blocks away. Now it was the equivalent of about a block away. If this rain were to continue, it could easily reach this shanty in less than a couple of hours. 

"You should probably leave some kind of light on if you're planning to get home late," Sam said. "Anyone could be hiding in the yard."

Dean didn't say anything. Sam could sense shame rising off him.

"You do have electricity, don't you?" 

"I get by fine," Dean said.

Sam's stomach dropped. His Omega. Their Dean was living, probably squatting really, in a shack without electricity and probably had been throughout the dangerous summer heat. No electricity probably meant no other utilities either. Sam went to start the car again, to drive them both back home. He couldn't let Dean spend another night out here, much less this night. But Dean had silently opened the car door and slipped out into the downpour. Sam scrambled after him but didn't manage to catch up until Dean got to the back porch. He followed Dean inside. At least it was mostly dry inside. A trickle of water poured down the ceiling into a plastic trash can that Dean had obviously set up for that purpose. Outside, though, Sam had almost felt like he was drowning. 

"I'm fine. The bedroom is dry," Dean said. "I got a camping lantern."

A dim, blueish battery operated light suddenly cast the place into shadows rather than thick darkness. Despite the decrepitude of the house itself, the room seemed to be clean, or at least not cluttered. There was a white foam ice chest on the counter along with a couple of cans of food. A few dishes were placed inside a plastic storage container. There wasn't any sign of garbage and the floor seemed to have been swept, no dirty dishes on the counter. His Omega had been trying so hard to make a home here. It was heartbreaking.

"I can't let you stay here, especially not tonight. Did you see how close the river is? The weather report says its continuing to rise. It could get here in hours and pull this house right off its foundation."

"I don't have any place else to go," Dean said.

"Yes, you do. Come home," Sam said. "Just grab everything you can. I'm going to take you home."

"I can't," Dean said. "I'm at your place so much, getting underfoot. Mrs. Campbell probably is getting sick of me hanging around so much."

"Jess would castrate me if she knew that I just left you here and in danger when you should be at home where you're safe and dry. Dean, you don't belong here. You're not underfoot. You're a part of our family now. That means I have to take care of you."

It was an Alpha's nature to protect his family. Or should have been. He had no idea what wire was crossed in Dean's father. Sam wrapped his arms around Dean and pulled him close. He scented Dean fully for the first time, feeling relaxed and happy as he could feel his glands do their thing, the micro-droplets of oily stuff spreading onto Dean's hair and neck. He stroked Dean's hair, spreading the scent around. Dean sighed but then melted against Sam's neck. 

"Ok, grab your stuff and let's get you out of here," Sam said, wishing he could tell Dean to just leave it all, that they would get him new stuff and he could leave it all behind. But there were no doubt pictures, mementos and that sort of thing, that Dean would want. Dean hustled into another room and Sam followed. He watched Dean grab clothes that were hung on nails poking out of the wall, his few books from a pile on the floor and a massive, silvery bowie knife from under the pillow of the bed. 

"Whoa! What are you doing with that?" Sam asked. Dean looked at him, then around the room, as if wondering why he was even being questioned. And Sam got it. "Oh, right. Omega living alone. We can put it in the gun safe with the hunting rifles. There won't be any need for you to sleep with it under your pillow any longer."

"I've just always been used to looking out for myself. An independent Omega, you know."

"I'm not some reactionary, planning to keep an Omega pupped up and locked in the kitchen, but that pig sticker can't be out where the girls might find it. You'll be safe at home."

Somehow, Sam thought they were talking about far more than just whether Dean could keep his knife under his pillow or not. This was courtship talk, even if Dean didn't know it. Because one thing had become clear to Sam over the past couple of months with Dean was that the Omega didn't know or assume that babysitting was kind of a trial run for mating, a way for an Omega to see how a household was run and how they liked that and a way for a Alpha and Beta couple to see how the Omega handled kids and what they were like. Sam and Jess had taken things beyond slow when they realized Dean wasn't seeing things through that filter, but it was time to make a stronger move, to make things a little more clear.

"You're sure Jess doesn't mind me around, you getting your scent all over me?"

"You can ask her yourself when we get home, but she's definitely in favor of it. If anything, she wants you around more."

Finally, Dean finished grabbing all his stuff, zipped up his duffle and backpack. By the time they'd gotten out to the car, the river had risen precipitously, to fifty feet of the shack. 

"You sure this everything?" Sam asked. "Fast as the river is rising, I don't know if you'll get a chance to come back for things."

"I'm good. Used to traveling light," Dean said. "This is everything. The furniture and bedding were here."

Sam vowed to have Jess take Dean out shopping. Just for stuff. Everything. New clothes. Bedding of his own choice. Pillows and cushions. An Omega's life should be comfortable and easy, full and plentiful of everything they needed. Dean had, if Sam believed what he said, less than Sam would pack for a weekend trip for himself, never mind what an Omega would pack. Sam turned around and drove them home. Dean was shivering, soaked wet by their brief trips back and forth from the shack. Sam was no less wet. He turned the heat on a little and adjusted the blower onto Dean. Then he laid his hand softly on Dean's thigh, not too high up. He wished for the cars of his childhood with the big bench seat across the front, so he could pull Dean right up next to him and his body heat. His car had bucket seats and a big console between them full of cup holders and such.

"We'll have you warm and dry in just a few minutes," Sam promised. 

He had to turn off the River Road and onto the highway even though that was the long way around. Other parts of it had already flooded and were blocked off, just the parts that usually flooded in this kind of weather mostly, so they had been cleared of houses long ago. The rain continued in sheets, his windshield wipers having a hard time keeping up. They made it home before too long and he pulled into the garage. 

Jess was waiting with a pile of towels in the mudroom. She headed for Dean first, towel open. 

"Thank God, Dean. I'm so glad Sam talked you into coming back home. I was so worried. Look at you. You're half drowned," she said as she toweled Dean off, leaving Sam to take care of himself. "Let's get you up to the shower to warm up."

***

He'd tried to protest. He was a big boy. He could take care of himself. Jess dragged him upstairs to the master suite and into the big bathroom off it. He let her drag him, feeling kind of numb and helpless. He was cold from the rain, shivering. From the looks of things, his home was going to be washed away by the river before morning and he would be homeless. She stripped off his shirts and jeans, just dropping them to the white tile. There was a huge tub, but Jess pushed him into a big, double headed shower. When Jess stripped out of her pajamas and climbed right into the shower with him, he was shocked. She was just plain gorgeous. Her lush body was stacked, soft through the belly from having kids, a few little streaks of stretch marks on it. Dean would never have said he was into women at all, but he could appreciate what was put in front of him. 

She didn't make it a sexual thing though. She scrubbed him up, even washed his hair for him, made him bend his head down so she could do it. Even so, there just couldn't not be sex in it. It was like the set up for some porn film- the Omega mate and the Beta wife playing around until the Alpha arrives on the scene. 

She sniffed him too as she cleaned him. "Oh, Sam smells so good on you, sweetie, like he's meant for you."

"But, you can't mean," he started.

"I can and I do. You know, Sam wants to spend another six months pussy footing around this and hope you pick up a clue, but I think we just need to tell you. We want to court you. We've known for a long time that we want an Omega and we've known for a while now that it's you."

Dean could hardly believe what he was hearing. 

"You want Sam to mate me?" he asked.

"We want to mate you," she said. "Not one of those old fashioned families where the Alpha has as many spouses as he wants, but a true triad, equal partners all around."

They wanted him as mate. They were taking him in, making him part of them. He would never have to say goodbye to his girls. He didn't have to wait for his absent father to arrange it. He would never have to be alone now. He wouldn't have to go back to the shack or whatever awful place his father would arrange next, live out of ice chests and plastic bags, without some essential or another. 

"Yeah, okay," he said. "Yeah. But, uh, if you're courting me, isn't this a little forward?"

When he'd said yeah, she'd pressed her naked body against his. He'd never felt anything quite like it. She was so soft, smelled so good. Yeah, there was the soap, but he thought maybe that she'd picked apple soap because it was what she naturally smelled like. She smelled like apples and sunshine, like home. But he wasn't sure what to do with his arms suddenly full of wet, naked, wonderful female. There was the promise of so much but he just couldn't. Not yet. 

"Oh, Dean, trust me. We haven't been nearly forward enough. Sam? You want to join us in here, honey?"

A moment later, Sam appeared, poking his head into the glass shower enclosure. He was already changed into dry clothes- a t-shirt and knit pants. His hair had been combed but was still damp. 

"You okay with me joining you two, Dean?" he asked. "I don't want to pressure you in any way."

The t-shirt stretched slightly over Sam's broad shoulders. The guy was built like crazy. Like a brick house. Suddenly, Dean felt embarrassed even as his body was starting to take a real interest in the proceedings. The thought of being naked between these two was just more than he could take. With just Jess it had been fine. Even though Dean was an Omega, Jess was still shorter and smaller than him and she'd been sweet, motherly even. But there was no doubt that Sam was all Alpha. He was beyond huge.

Sam automatically understood. Dean didn't have to say anything. Sam just knew. Sam pulled out of the shower stall and said, "Jess, why don't you let Dean finish up here. Dean, why don't you get dressed and we'll all meet up in the living room in ten and we can talk?"

Jess got up on her tippy-toes to give him a kiss on the cheek, just like the ones that Sam had been giving him all these weeks. He'd been telling himself that they hadn't really meant anything. That it was just what an Alpha did to those around him, the possessive, protective side coming out. He wondered now though. Had they been courting him all along and he had been totally oblivious to it? They must have thought him clueless, stupid. And hell, yes, he was a virgin but he'd never before thought that he was naive. John Winchester had made sure of that.

Dad told him often enough what happened to Omegas who didn't guard their virtue. They ended up used and discarded. Omegas who whored around ended up as whores for real. You couldn't teach an Omega to fight for real, but Dad had taught him enough moves and how to handle a knife enough to make sure Dean didn't end up in a bad way, taken but not claimed, soiled and worthless. If nothing else, Dad had hammered home the message that Dean shouldn't let anyone touch him unless they were going to mate him. Ring first, then knot. Would they respect that? Jess, at least, seemed to expect them to move onto naked showers and maybe shower sex before they'd even given him a promise ring.

Dean hurried to rinse, then step out of the shower to dry himself. He looked around. His wet clothes had been taken away, he had nothing dry in the room with him. Jess had a bathrobe on a hook by the door, but it was pink and tiny. He wrapped himself in a towel, covering as much of himself as he could. If nothing else, he had some clean clothes in the laundry room which was just at the end of the hallway. He shouldn't have worried. One of them had grabbed some of his clean, dry clothes and laid them out on the bed. He pulled on the track pants and t-shirt. They'd added a hoodie to the pile as well. He pulled it on and was enveloped in the smell of the both of them, like it was Sam's hoodie that Jess sometimes wore. It must have been like a dress on her because it fell to Dean's upper thighs, the cuffs grazing his knuckles. He spent a moment just luxuriating in the comforting scent of them, like a big cloth hug or something. 

Downstairs, Jess pounced on him the instant he set foot into the living room. She all but dragged him over to the sofa and pushed him down right next to Sam, then took her place on his other side. He was the filling in a Jess and Sam sandwich, a kind of human peanut butter and jelly. 

"Jess," Sam said, warningly.

Jess sighed but pulled herself off of Dean. "Sam seems to think I'm being too forward with you," she said. "Would you rather sit on one of the chairs for our talk? I just. I can't imagine not snuggling you for the rest of forever."

They all ended up on the sofa together, him in the middle, just not as squished all together as they had been. He had a little breathing room but he was still close to them both, just like it should be, he thought. 

"I guess Jess has already proposed to you," Sam said. "But let me confirm, we want you to join our family, be a triad with us. Would you let us court you formally, Dean?"

"Yes," he said. "God yes, I wish I could. But I haven't been able to reach my Dad for a few weeks for permission and to sign the mating contract. I mean, I'm sure he'll be okay with it, but I just want to make sure we do everything right, all legal."

"You don't have to get your Alpha's signature to get mated in Texas if you're eighteen," Jess said. 

He didn't have to wait for his Dad. He could just do this. He could make his own decision about it. It was dizzying, really. Texas was such a confusing place. Dean had lived in places where by law, Omegas had every same right an Alpha did and he'd lived in places where an Omega could hardly sneeze without permission from some Alpha. He couldn't pay his own bills without someone else co-signing, but he could make the most important decision of his life on his own? 

"I don't know. I just never thought I'd be the one making this decision and on my own."


End file.
